Russians' attitude toward Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has improved over the last nine years, a recent poll by the state-run pollster VTsIOM revealed, the Interfax news agency reported Friday.
Russians who respect the Chechen leader has reached 30 percent, showing a 20-percentage-point increase since a similar poll was conducted in 2007. He is disliked by 13 percent and 2 percent denounce his actions, the poll showed.
According to the poll, only 62 percent of Russians were aware that Kadyrov is the leader of Chechen republic, and 16 percent admitted that they were familiar with his name, but had no idea of his position, Interfax reported.
Sixty percent of respondents called Kadyrov an independent politician, with more than half of them saying that he is a close ally of President Vladimir Putin. Almost every fourth poll participant thinks the Chechen leader is subordinate to the Russian president.
The poll was conducted Feb. 6-7, among 1,600 respondents in 46 Russian regions, Interfax reported.
